Entries tagged with “The Mighty Clouds of Joy”.

The reason for this project is to commemorate the life and talent of the Tenors of Quartet Music.

As a boy I remembered the excitement that I felt and the gleam in my
eyes as I first saw Isaac Jones of the Violinaires, and “Big Red” of the Swanee Quintet. I was captivated by the big sounds that came out of the mouth of Charles McLain of The Gospelairs, the sharp sounds that came from Author Crumes of the Soul Stirrers, and the smooth sounds from the Mighty Clouds of Joy. I also remembered Johnny Jones of the Swanees, and Jimmy Lee Outler of the Soul Stirrers.

Now that these legends are gone, this project is to remind us of the strong influence these musical giants had on me as a young boy as well as on the world. Songs such as, “Three Pictures of the Lord“ pays tribute to Isaac Jones, and Danny Walker’s “Can’t Refuse“, “Walk Around Heaven” with Paul Beasley, “Rest for the Weary” with Charles McClain, and “Precious Memories” with the Violinaires, all demonstrate to the world the uniqueness of the tenor sound.

Special thanks to Calvin Cloud for the lead in “Jesus You’ve Been Good to Me” and “Rest for the Weary“. Thanks to Christopher Grey and Wesley Hill for singing tenor in “Precious Memories.”

Dave Shirley and Tafal Gospel Singers of Los Angles, California, recently released their new project titled We See A Better Way.

Although this may be the first time you have heard of this group, the guys are no strangers to the gospel quartet genre. In fact, Dave Shirley is the cousin of Joe Ligon of The Mighty Clouds of Joy. And, Joe’s brother Clarence Ligon is a member of Dave Shirley and Tafal Gospel Singers.

Dave Shirley has been singing gospel for over 30 years. Years ago he was a member of The Five Tones of Binghamton, NY. The members of Dave Shirley and Tafal Gospel Singers were, at one time, known as The Angels of Joy. The Angels were based out of Los Angels, California.

Along with Ligon and Shirley, the other members of the group are Johnny Brown, Jerry Warner and Al Sanders. Including their years with The Angels of Joy, the guys have been together for over 25 years.

You may be wondering, as we were, what is Tafal? According to Mr. Shirley it is an acronym that contains the first letter of the name of each state were a group member was born – Texas, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

There are fifteen (15) songs on the CD. There are some really good ballads on the CD. The message in each song is inspiring and relevant to current events. Listeners will find it hard to take this project out of the player.

A few years ago, we received a CD with just four (4) songs on it from a group called The Sons of Jericho. The title to the CD immediately got our attention – A Tribute to Quartet. And, what a tribute!

The songs on the CD are “When The Lord Gets Ready For You (You’ve Got To Move)“, “Must Jesus Bare The Cross Alone,” “O Lord Show Me The Way” and “Sinner Man What You Going To Do.”

“Sinner Man What You Going To Do” will immediately remind the listeners of The Swan Silvertones, The Fantastic Violinaires, and The Gospelaires. The guys handle the falsetto vocals as smooth as the legendary groups mentioned. And, its all done A Cappella.

“O Lord Show Me The Way” is a Gospel Keynotes’ signature song. The Sons of Jericho really have captured the essence of The Gospel Keynotes with this song. You can feel the vocal mannerism of the late Willie Neal Johnson as the Sons tell the story that is so much a part of the song.

The falsetto vocals return with “Must Jesus Bare The Cross Alone.” Quartet Gospel enthusiasts will listen to this song an imagine Paul Beasley, Charles McLean, The Late Isaiah “Lil Shoot” Jones, The Late Michael Cook, or The Late Claude Jeters singing lead.

The final song, “When The Lord Gets Ready For You (You’ve Got To Move),” is classic Dixie Hummingbirds, Pilgrim Jubilees, The Legendary Singing Stars, and The Mighty Clouds of Joy. In other words, take your pick of any of the groups that can reallyhandle a ‘drive song’ and you’ll have a deep appreciation for what the group has done with “When The Lord Gets Ready For You.”

The group is based out of Kansas City, Missouri. The members are William Craddock, Kenneth Craddock, Terry Allen, Bobby Robinson, Beverly Brackson, Andre Jones, D.L. Marshall, Anthony Sherman, and James Palmer. They are known in the Midwest as the Pride of Kansas City.

Even three (3) years after the release, their Tribute to Quartet still deserves to be in heavy rotation on all gospel music stations. And, they deserve to be spotlighted as we celebrate Black Music Month.